The Brady Bunch Hour
The Brady family stars in a variety show spin-off.
The Brady Bunch Hour is an American variety show produced by Sid & Marty Krofft Productions in association with Paramount Television, airing on ABC from November 28, 1976, to May 25, 1977. It starred the original cast of The Brady Bunch, except Eve Plumb, who was replaced by Geri Reischl. The series began as a special titled The Brady Bunch Variety Hour, which earned high ratings and led to eight additional episodes.
Quick Facts
- Genre
- Variety
- Creator
- Sid and Marty Krofft
- Based on
- The Brady Bunch, Sherwood Schwartz
- Director
- Art Fisher; Jack Regas
- End theme
- "United We Stand" performed by the Bradys
- Composer
- George Wyle
- Country
- United States
- Seasons
- 1
Facts from the source article.
Premise
After the family is chosen to star in a new variety series for ABC, Mike Brady leaves his architectural career and moves the family into a beachside home in Southern California. Next-door neighbor Jack Merrill, played by Rip Taylor, frequently joins the act and becomes a love interest for the Bradys' maid, Alice. Each episode includes song-and-dance numbers and sketches, along with a behind-the-scenes story set in the Bradys' home.
Background
In 1976, ABC president Fred Silverman conceived the idea of reuniting the Brady Bunch cast on an episode of the Donny & Marie variety show. Florence Henderson, Maureen McCormick, Mike Lookinland, and Susan Olsen appeared on that episode, which aired on October 8 and was a ratings success, prompting Silverman to develop a variety show starring the Brady family. Donny & Marie producers Sid and Marty Krofft agreed to produce the show, as they had crossed paths with the Brady Bunch stars on several occasions, but no one sought approval from Paramount Pictures or series creator Sherwood Schwartz. Both parties eventually gave their approval, mainly to maintain interest in the original series. The variety hour was the only Brady project produced without Schwartz's involvement. Robert Reed, known for his dissatisfaction with other Brady Bunch incarnations, quickly signed on. Maureen McCormick recalled that it was the first time any of them could remember him wanting to do something Brady-related. Barry Williams wrote that Reed enjoyed being on the show despite its quality, and Reed explained that Sid and Marty described the project positively, making him think it would be fun. McCormick noted that Reed sang and danced without caring that he was lousy and the show itself was worse.
The Brady Bunch Variety Hour in popular culture
TV Guide ranked the series at No. 4 in a 2002 compilation of the 50 worst television series in American history. The show is the subject of a 2009 coffee table book titled Love to Love You Bradys by Susan Olsen, which includes over 100 new interviews with the Brady Bunch, Sid Krofft, Marty Krofft, Sherwood Schwartz, Bruce Vilanch, Rip Taylor, and Paul Shaffer. The series was parodied on a season three episode of That '70s Show titled "Red Sees Red," where the family watches the show and each leaves in anger, with Red calling it "crap." It was also parodied in "The Simpsons Spin-Off Showcase," where the Simpson family stars in a variety show spin-off, and Lisa Simpson is replaced by a prom queen-type, similar to Eve Plumb's replacement. In a season three episode of Tiny Toon Adventures titled "Grandma's Dead," Elmyra's hamster Jan Brady dies and is replaced by a new hamster also named Jan Brady, referred to as a "midseason replacement." In the Gilmore Girls episode "Application Anxiety," Rory and Lorelai watch The Brady Bunch Variety Hour. In Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie, Ivan Ooze mentions the "Brady bunch reunion" as one of three terrible things in history he missed.
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